Integrated Investment and Insurance Accounts

ABSTRACT

The techniques disclosed herein generally relate to providing insurance via an integrated investment and insurance account. An integrated account may have an owner, and may include an investment vehicle portion and an insurance policy portion. The investment vehicle portion may include or be associated with one or more investment vehicles via which the account owner may invest money and, based on the invested funds, the insurance policy portion may provide insurance for which the account owner is designated as the insured party. Premiums for the insurance policy portion may be borne by the operating expenses of the investment vehicle portion. Additionally, a payout or benefit amount of the insurance provided by such integrated accounts may be based on the value of accumulated assets under management of the investment vehicle portion at the time of the payout.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/528,446, which was filed on Oct. 30, 2014, and is titled “IntegratedInvestment and Insurance Accounts,” the entirety of which is expresslyincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure generally relates to an account that enables its ownerto obtain insurance having a payout that tracks with the value of aninvestment.

BACKGROUND

Customers may purchase investment vehicle products and insurancepolicies separately, as separate transactions for separate, unrelatedproducts. Some products currently on the market, though, do associateinvestment vehicles and insurance policies. For example, U.S. Pat. No.8,346,648 is directed to donating an annuity to a charitableorganization, and further using the annuity to purchase a life insurancepolicy for the donor. Accordingly, the charitable organization receivesany gains generated by the annuity while the donor is living. U.S. Pat.No. 6,950,805 is directed to using annuities that are purchased in partusing borrowed money to fund life insurance policies via variousbusiness and trust structures to reduce tax consequences. U.S. PatentApplication No. 20140195271 is directed to using the gains of an annuityto pay for life insurance premiums and avoid taxation of the gainsgenerated by the annuity.

Generally, the above examples and other similar products do not returnthe gains generated by an investment immediately to the investmentaccount owner to do with as he or she wishes, as most of these types ofproducts are directed to reducing or eliminating the tax consequences onsaid gains. Furthermore, typically most of these types of productsrequire a full underwriting process to be used to approve the associatedinsurance policies.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, a system for providing insurance by using anintegrated investment vehicle and insurance policy account may comprisea computing device having a processor and a memory, and an integratedaccount provider. The integrated account provider may comprise a set ofcomputer-executable instructions for providing integrated investment andinsurance accounts. The set of computer-executable instructions may bestored on the memory of the computing device, thereby particularlyconfiguring the computing device for providing the integrated investmentvehicle and insurance policy account. The integrated investment vehicleand insurance policy account may be an integrated account, and thecomputer-executable instructions may be executable by the processor tocause the computing device to establish an investment vehicle portion ofthe integrated account, where the investment vehicle portion includes anindication of an amount of funds invested by an owner of the integratedaccount in one or more investment vehicles and an indication of anoperating expense assessed on at least a part of the amount of funds.Further, the computer-executable instructions may be executable by theprocessor to cause the computing device to establish an insurance policyportion of the integrated account, where the insurance policy portionincludes an indication of the account owner being designated as aninsured party of at least one insurance policy, and an indication thatan amount of a payout of the at least one insurance policy is to bebased on a value of total assets under management (AUM) of the one ormore investment vehicles at a time of the payout. Still further, thecomputer-executable instructions may be executable by the processor tocause the computing device to cause at least a portion of the operatingexpense assessed on the at least the part of the amount of funds to bepaid towards a premium of the at least one insurance policy, therebyproviding insurance to the account owner.

In an embodiment, a system for providing insurance by using anintegrated investment vehicle and insurance policy account (e.g., anintegrated account) may include a first memory configured to store anindication of an operating expense of an investment vehicle portion ofthe integrated account. The investment vehicle portion may correspond tofunds invested by an owner of the integrated account in one or moreinvestment vehicles, and may indicate the operating expense assessed onat least one of the one or more investment vehicles. The system mayfurther include a computing device having a processor communicativelyconnected to the first memory, a second memory, and a set ofcomputer-executable instructions for providing integrated investment andinsurance accounts. The set of computer-executable instructions may bestored on the second memory of the computing device, therebyparticularly configuring the computing device to provide the integratedaccount. The set of computer-executable instructions may executable bythe processor to cause at least a portion of the assessed operatingexpense of the investment vehicle portion of the integrated account tobe applied towards a premium of an insurance policy corresponding to aninsurance policy portion of the integrated account, thereby providinginsurance to the integrated account owner. Further, the integratedaccount owner may be an insured party of the insurance policy, and anamount of a payout of the insurance policy may be based on a value oftotal assets under management (AUM) of the one or more investmentvehicles at a time of the payout.

In an embodiment, a system for providing insurance via an integratedinvestment and insurance account may include a computing device having aprocessor, a memory, and a set of computer-executable instructions forproviding integrated investment and insurance accounts. The set ofcomputer-executable instructions may be stored on the memory of thecomputing device, thereby particularly configuring the computing devicefor providing the integrated investment and insurance account.Additionally the integrated investment and insurance account may be anintegrated account, and the computer-executable instructions may beexecutable by the processor to cause the computing device to augment anestablished investment account with an application for an insurancepolicy to generate the integrated account, wherein the establishedinvestment account is opened by an account owner and has an operatingexpense, the account owner is designated as an insured party of theinsurance policy, and an amount of a payout of the insurance policy isto be based on a value of total assets under management (AUM) of theestablished investment account at a time of the payout. Further, thecomputer-executable instructions may be executable by the processor tocause an underwriting process to be performed on the application for theinsurance policy, where the underwriting process is a subset of anunderwriting process designated to be performed for an application for astand-alone insurance policy that does not augment any investmentaccount of the account owner. Still further, the computer-executableinstructions may be executable by the processor to receive an approvalfrom the underwriting process performed on the application of theinsurance policy and, based on the approval, include the approvedinsurance policy in the integrated account; and cause at least a portionof monies received in response to an assessment of the operating expenseon the established investment account to be paid towards a premium ofthe insurance policy, thereby providing insurance to the account owner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example method of providing insurance using an integratedinvestment and insurance account; and

FIG. 2 is an example block diagram of a system for providing insuranceusing integrated investment and insurance accounts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The novel methods and systems disclosed herein generally relate toenabling an owner of an investment account to obtain insurance via anintegrated investment and insurance account (which, for ease of reading,is referred to interchangeably herein as an “integrated account”). Anintegrated account may include an investment vehicle portion and aninsurance policy portion. The investment vehicle portion of theintegrated account may include or may be associated with one or moreinvestment vehicles in which the account owner may invest money. Theinsurance policy portion of the integrated account may provide insurancebased on the invested funds for the account owner, e.g., the accountowner may be designated as an insured party of the insurance provided bythe integrated account. Typically, the underwriting process used toobtain the insurance provided by the insurance policy portion of theintegrated account may be a simplified, pared-down underwriting processas compared to the underwriting process that is typically required toobtain a same type of insurance policy for the account owner via astand-alone insurance product.

The investment vehicle portion and the insurance policy portion of theintegrated account are referred to herein as being “integrated,” asvarious parameters or terms of one portion are dependent on variousparameters or terms of the other portion. In an embodiment, one or morefinancial parameters of the insurance policy portion may be dependent onone or more financial parameters of the investment vehicle portion. Forexample, premiums for the insurance provided by the insurance policyportion may be covered by (e.g., paid from) monies received from theassessment(s) of operating expenses of the investment vehiclesassociated with or included in the investment vehicle portion. As such,the premiums for the insurance policy portion of the integrated accountmay be borne by the operating expenses of the investment vehicle portionof the integrated account. Further, the insurance policy portion of theintegrated account may be structured so that a payout or benefit amountof the insurance provided thereby may be based on the value ofaccumulated assets under management (AUM) of the investment vehicleportion at the time of the payout. That is, the amount of the payout orthe benefit may track with the value of one or more investment vehiclesassociated with the investment vehicle portion. For example, a payoutamount of the insurance may be the entirety of the value of the totalaccumulated AUM of the investment vehicle portion at the time of thepayout, or may be a portion of the value of the total accumulated AUM,e.g., a percentage, a fixed amount, etc.

Typically, integrated investment and insurance accounts do not aim tooptimize insurance premium amounts or amounts of coverage for theaccount owner. Rather, integrated accounts provide a vehicle via whichthe account owner may easily and conveniently obtain insurance. Indeed,in some scenarios, an integrated account may be created by adding theinsurance policy portion to an existing investment account of theaccount owner, e.g., by augmenting an established investment accountwith a dependent insurance policy.

Further, in addition to enabling the account owner to easily andconveniently obtain insurance, such integrated investment and insuranceaccounts may also provide benefits to the providers of the integratedaccounts. For example, by offering integrated investment and insuranceaccounts, providers may attract a wider customer base, may increasesales, and/or may increase profits. Of course, integrated investment andinsurance accounts must meet insurance regulatory and actuarialstandards as well as securities regulations. Furthermore, integratedinvestment vehicle and insurance accounts must comply with allapplicable local, state and federal laws.

Still further, integrated investment and insurance accounts lessen theamount of computing resources required to set up and administrate theproduct as compared to separate investment and insurance accounts.Separate investment vehicle and insurance policy products require atleast double the amount of memory to store and track accountinformation, not to mention additional processor usage and networktraffic that is required to separately administrate the two accounts.Additionally, with separate accounts, additional computing resources(e.g., memory, processing resources, network traffic, etc.) are requiredwhen an applicant is required to go through multiple rounds ofunderwriting. Having a single, integrated account may significantlyreduce (e.g., reduce by about half) the amount of memory, processingresources, and bandwidth required for two separate accounts.Accordingly, computing resources are optimized and freed up to performother tasks.

It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined inthis patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘______’ ishereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intentto limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication,beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not beinterpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in anysection of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To theextent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this disclosureis referred to in this disclosure in a manner consistent with a singlemeaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse thereader, and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, byimplication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless aclaim element is defined by reciting the word “means” and a functionwithout the recital of any structure, it is not intended that the scopeof any claim element be interpreted based on the application of 35U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph.

Accordingly, as used herein, the terms “integrated investment andinsurance account provider,” “integrated account provider,” or“provider” are used interchangeably to generally refer to a party orentity (e.g., a business or other organizational entity) that providesintegrated investment and insurance products, e.g., by offering andproviding integrated investment vehicles and insurance policies.Typically, but not necessarily, an integrated investment and insuranceaccount provider may be an insurance company or a financial servicescompany.

Additionally, the terms “insured,” “insured party,” and “policyholder”are used interchangeably herein to refer to the owner of the integratedinvestment and insurance account, e.g., a person or party who is coveredby the insurance policy. A “guarantor,” as used herein, generally refersto a person, party or entity that is responsible for providing theinsurance premiums. The guarantor may or may not be the same party asthe insured, such as in situations when a guarantor has power ofattorney for the insured.

Further, the term “insurance” or “insurance policy,” as usedinterchangeably herein, generally refers to a contract between aninsurer and an insured. Typically, the insurer may be the provider ofthe integrated account, the insured may be the owner of the integratedaccount. In exchange for payments paid on behalf of the insured, theintegrated account provider may provide one or more insurance payouts(which also may be referred to interchangeably herein as a “benefit” ofthe insurance or insurance policy) as specified by the language of theinsurance policy included in or associated with the integrated account.The payments on behalf of the account owner or the insured are generallyreferred to as “premiums,” and typically are paid over time at periodicintervals. For integrated accounts in particular, the premiums for theinsurance policy portion of the integrated account may be paid over timeusing at least a portion of the periodic operating expenses that havebeen assessed for the investment vehicle portion of the integratedaccount, in an embodiment.

Additionally, the insurance or insurance policy provided by theintegrated account may remain (or have a status or state of) “in-force”after the application has been approved and while the integrated accountremains open and premium payments are being made. An insurance policymay “lapse” (or have a status or state of “lapsed”), for example, whenpremium payments are not being paid, when the insured or the insurercancels the policy, or when the account owner closes the integratedaccount.

An integrated account may provide one or more different types ofinsurance, insurance products, or insurance policies, any one or more ofwhich may be integrated with one or more investment vehicles. Typically,the types of insurance which may be integrated with investment accountsare types of insurance for which the account owner may be designated asthe insured party, e.g., life insurance, disability insurance, long-termcare insurance, personal liability insurance, personal umbrellainsurance, or any other type of insurance for which the account ownermay be designated as the respective insured party. Based on the currentlaws and regulations at the time of this disclosure, typically the typesof insurance policies which may be integrated with investment accountsmay correspond to types of insurance that are not tax-qualified and thatare not tax-deferred, although this restriction may be altered if thelaws and/or regulations change.

The term “investment vehicle,” as used herein, generally refers to aproduct used by the account owner with the intention of having positivefinancial returns. Types of investment vehicles may include, forexample, stocks, bonds, mutual funds (e.g., stock funds, index funds,bond funds, money market funds, mixed asset funds, hedge funds, etc.);checking accounts; savings accounts; certificate of deposits; otherinterest bearing vehicles; ETFs; brokerage accounts; investmentmanagement accounts; and other types of investment vehicles. Typically,an investor opens an integrated investment and insurance account (oropens a stand-alone investment account which may be converted into orincluded into an integrated account) corresponding to one or moreparticular investment vehicles, and provides an initial contributionthat is equivalent to a monetary value. Based on the current laws andregulations at the time of this disclosure, typically the types ofinvestment vehicle accounts which may be integrated with insurancepolicies correspond to investment vehicles that are not tax-deferred andthat are not tax-qualified, although this restriction may be altered ifthe laws and/or regulations change.

An integrated investment and insurance provider may offer, provide, orallow one or more types of investment vehicles for integration withinsurance policies. Indeed, in an embodiment, any one or more types ofinvestment vehicles may be integrated with any one or more types ofinsurance policies to form an integrated investment and insuranceaccount. In some scenarios, multiple investment accounts of multipletypes may be integrated with multiple insurance policies to form anintegrated investment and insurance account.

Turning now to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 illustrates an example method 100 forproviding insurance using an integrated investment and insuranceaccount. At least a portion of the method 100 may be performed by one ormore computing devices, in an embodiment.

The method 100 may include establishing an investment vehicle portion ofan integrated investment and insurance account (block 102). Theinvestment vehicle portion may include or may be associated with fundsthat are provided or contributed by the account owner and that areinvested in one or more investment vehicles. For example, the accountowner may provide an initial principal amount for investment in the oneor more investment vehicles, and at later dates may provide additionalfunds for investment. The one or more investment vehicles may providerespective returns, which the account owner may do with as he or shepleases, e.g., re-invest, withdraw, transfer to a different account,etc.

The one or more investment vehicles included in the investment vehicleportion of the integrated account may be, for example, stocks, bonds,mutual funds (e.g., stock funds, index funds, bond funds, money marketfunds, mixed asset funds, hedge funds, etc.); checking accounts; savingsaccounts; certificate of deposits; other interest bearing vehicles;ETFs; brokerage accounts; investment management accounts; and othertypes of investment vehicles. Typically, investment vehicles that areutilized in integrated accounts may exclude tax-deferred investmentvehicles, such as retirement accounts, health savings accounts, andcertain types of annuities. In some scenarios, all annuities may beexcluded from being utilized in integrated accounts.

Additionally, an investment vehicle that is utilized by an integratedaccount typically may have an assessed operating expense. In anembodiment, the operating expense may be assessed based on a percentageof the value of current assets under management (AUM). Additionally oralternatively, the operating expense may be a fixed amount, e.g., afixed currency amount such as a fixed dollar amount. For example, if thevalue of AUM falls below a certain predetermined value, the operatingexpense may be assessed as a fixed amount, whereas if the value of theAUM is above the certain predetermined value, the operating expense maybe assessed as a percentage of the value of current AUM. In some cases,different assessment percentages may be utilized for different ranges ofAUM. For some investment vehicles, the operating expenses are assessedperiodically, and for other investment vehicles, the operating expensesare assessed when funds are deposited into the account (e.g., initially,and when additional funds are added by the account owner). For example,either a percentage of the deposited funds or a fixed amount may beassessed when initial or additional funds are deposited.

In an embodiment, establishing the investment vehicle portion of theintegrated account may include storing an indication of the integratedaccount owner, an indication of a current balance of the one or moreinvestment vehicles, and/or an indication of the designated operatingexpense assessment structure or protocol. In some embodiments,indications of other parameters corresponding to the investment vehicleportion may be stored, for example, current balances of each of theinvestment vehicles included therein or associated therewith, dates andamounts of assessed operating expenses, other account activity, etc.

At a block 105, the method 100 may include establishing an insurancepolicy portion of the integrated investment and insurance account.Establishing the insurance policy portion may include initiallyreceiving respective applications for one or more insurance policies,each of which may designate the account owner as a respective insuredparty. When the respective applications are approved, the insurancepolicy portion of the integrated account may then include the one ormore approved, in-force insurance policies.

During establishment of the insurance policy portion (block 105), theaccount owner may submit or provide an application for a particular typeof insurance policy. Type of insurance policies that may be applied foras part of an integrated account may include any type of insurancepolicy for which the account owner may be designated as an insuredparty, e.g., life insurance; disability insurance; long-term careinsurance; personal liability insurance; personal umbrella insurance,etc. As such, establishing the insurance policy portion of theintegrated account (block 105) may include storing an indication of thetype of insurance policy that is applied for, included in, or associatedwith the insurance policy portion, and storing an indication that theaccount owner is designated as the insured party of the insurancepolicy.

Additionally, establishing the insurance policy portion of theintegrated account (block 105) may include storing an indication of typeof payout or benefit of the insurance policy, and how the amount of saidpayout or benefit is to be calculated or determined. For example, if theinsurance policy is a life insurance policy, the payout may be a deathbenefit (e.g., a lump or one-time payout). Similarly, the payout of adisability insurance policy may be a monthly disability payment, thepayout of a long-term care insurance policy may be a periodic payment ordisbursement, etc.

Generally, the amount of the payout or benefit may correspond to ortrack with the value of the investment vehicle portion of the integratedaccount, and as such, may vary over the lifetime of the insurancepolicy. In particular, the amount of the payout or benefit (whether lumpor periodic) may be determined at the time of the payout based on acurrent balance of the investment vehicle portion of the integratedaccount at the time of the payout, e.g., based on a value of the totalassets under management of the investment vehicle portion at the time ofthe payout. As such, the indication of the payout or benefit that isstored during the establishment of the insurance policy portion of theintegrated account may indicate the predetermined conditions, terms,and/or calculations that are to be used to determine the amount of anypayout or benefit at the time of the payout. For example, the payoutamount or benefit of the insurance policy portion may be indicated to bean entirety of the total value of assets-under-management of theinvestment vehicle portion at the time of the payout. In anotherexample, the payout amount may be indicated to be a portion of the valueof total AUM of the investment vehicle portion at the time of thepayout, e.g., a percentage, a fixed currency amount, or an entirety ofthe value of total AUM of a particular investment vehicle included inthe investment vehicle portion. For situations in which multipleinsurance policies are included in an integrated account, each differentinsurance policy may have respective (and potentially different) payoutor benefit conditions and/or calculations.

The payout or benefit provided by the insurance policy portion of theintegrated account may be separate and distinct from the actual assetsunder management of the investment vehicle portion of the integratedaccount. For example, consider an example scenario in which an accountowner establishes an integrated account that has an initial principalvalue of $75,000 invested in the investment vehicle portion, and thathas an insurance policy portion that provides life insurance with apredetermined death benefit of 100% of the value of assets undermanagement. In this scenario, the value of AUM of the investment vehicleportion of the integrated account has increased to $100,000 at the timeof the account owner's death. As such, a beneficiary of the integratedaccount may receive a $100,000 death benefit from the life insuranceportion of the integrated account. However, as the insurance benefitsare separate and distinct from the assets under management indicated inthe investment vehicle portion of the integrated account, thebeneficiary may also receive the $100,000 worth of assets undermanagement. Of course, the account owner may designate a first party asthe beneficiary of the life insurance policy, and may designate anotherparty as the beneficiary of the funds invested in the investmentvehicle.

At a block 108, the method 100 may include causing a received insuranceapplication that has been included in or associated with the insurancepolicy portion of the integrated account to undergo underwriting. Thatis, at the block 108, the method 100 may cause an underwriting processto be performed on the insurance application. Typically, theunderwriting process performed at the block 108 on an application for aninsurance policy of an integrated account is a subset of a fullunderwriting process that would be required, designated, or typicallyperformed for a similar, stand-alone insurance policy. Specifically, theunderwriting process performed on an application for insurance providedby an integrated account may be a subset of an underwriting process thatis recommended or designated for an application for a stand-alone,insurance policy in which the account owner is designated as the insuredparty. A stand-alone insurance policy, as generally referred to herein,is an insurance policy that provides a similar or same type of insuranceas provided by an insurance policy of an integrated account. However,the stand-alone insurance policy is not linked or associated with anyother investments of the insured party, either by integration or by someother type of operational dependency. For example, financial terms of astand-alone insurance policy are not based on any balance, operatingexpense, or other parameters of any other investment account of theaccount owner. Typically, stand-alone insurance policies aim to maximizea benefit or amount of coverage and/or minimize insurance premiumamounts. That is, stand-alone insurance policies typically aim tooptimize the financial parameters of the stand-alone insurance policywithout having the stand-alone insurance financial parameters beingdependent on parameters of other investment accounts.

On the other hand, insurance policies of integrated accounts may aim tosimply provide insurance coverage, which may or may not be an optimizedamount of coverage, and whose premiums may or may not be optimized.Additionally or alternatively, insurance policies of integrated accountsmay quickly provide an in-force insurance policy without having to waitfor a full underwriting process to be performed. Indeed, in somescenarios, an integrated account may allow insurance to be automaticallyapproved and immediately become in-force. As such, the simplified orpared-down underwriting that is caused to be performed at the block 108may be possible as insurance policies of integrated accounts aredependent on the investment vehicle portions of integrated accounts.

Returning to the block 108, in an embodiment, the method 100 may causethe underwriting process to be performed by forwarding insurance policyapplication data to a computing device configured to perform oradministrate the underwriting process. In another embodiment, the method100 may cause the underwriting process to be performed (block 108) bytransmitting an electronic notification to another computing device thatis accessible to an underwriter. Of course, other techniques for causingthe underwriting process to be performed may be additionally oralternatively utilized at the block 108.

Subsequently, at a block 110, the method 100 may include receiving anapproval of the insurance application based on the completedunderwriting process corresponding to the block 108. Based on theapproved application, the in-force insurance policy may then be includedin or associated with the insurance policy portion of the integratedaccount.

At a block 112, the method 100 may include causing one or more premiumsof the in-force insurance policy to be paid by using at least a portionof the monies received from one or more operating expense assessments ofthe investment vehicle portion of the integrated account. In an example,at least a portion of the operating expenses of the one or moreinvestment vehicles of the investment vehicle portion that have beenassessed and collected may be applied to one or more premiums of theinsurance policy. Thus, in effect, the cost or expense of the one ormore insurance policies included in the insurance policy portion of theintegrated account may be covered or borne by the operating expenses ofthe investment vehicle portion of the integrated account.

Accordingly, and as previously mentioned, while the investment vehicleportion of the integrated account remains active or open, the amount ofcoverage (e.g., the amount of the payout or benefit) provided by theinsurance policy may vary over time as the value of assets undermanagement of the investment vehicle portion varies due to investmentgains and losses, assessed operating expenses, owner deposits, and/orowner withdrawals. However, even though the insurance benefit amount mayvary, the insurance policy generally may remain in-force while theintegrated account is active or open and the assessed operating expensesof the investment vehicle portion (and optionally additional paymentsprovided by the account owner) cover the premiums. As such, an insurancepolicy provided by an integrated account may not have a fixed lifetimeor term (e.g., ten years, fifteen years, etc.), but rather the term ofthe insurance policy may correspond to the lifetime of the investmentvehicle portion, even if the particular investment vehicles included inor associated with the investment vehicle portion are changed over time.Of course, any of the one or more insurance policies included in theinsurance policy portion of the integrated account may be canceled atany time by the account owner.

At a block 115, the method 100 may include updating the values of storedparameters of the integrated account based on, for example, a gaingenerated by the one or investment vehicles, a loss generated by the oneor more investment vehicles, an assessment of an operating expense ofthe one or more investment vehicles, a deposit or withdrawal made by theaccount owner, etc. For example, the indication of respective currentbalances of the one or more investment vehicles may be updated. In somescenarios, other parameters of the integrated account may be updated.For example, the conditions or calculations used to determine theinsurance payout may be updated to reflect a new agreement between theprovider and the account owner.

Further, in some embodiments, at least a portion of the method 100 maybe used to provide insurance using an integrated investment andinsurance account by augmenting an existing investment account with oneor more insurance policies to form the integrated account. For example,an account owner may establish or open a mutual fund account or otherstand-alone investment vehicle account (block 102), and at some pointduring the lifetime of the existing investment account, the owner maydesire to obtain insurance based on the existing, established investmentaccount. The provider of the investment account may augment theexisting, established investment account with an insurance policyportion (e.g., at the block 105, the provider may add an insurancepolicy portion to the existing investment account account), therebygenerating an integrated investment and insurance account that has thepreviously established investment account as the investment vehicleportion (block 102), and that has the newly added insurance policy asthe insurance policy portion (block 105).

It is further noted that in the discussion herein, the one or moreinvestment vehicles associated with an integrated account may or may notbe provided and/or administrated by the provider of the integratedaccount, and the one or more insurance policies associated with theintegrated account may or may not be provided and/or administrated bythe provider of the integrated account. For example, the provider of theintegrated account may have an agreement with a provider of aninvestment vehicle to associate the investment vehicle with integratedinvestment and insurance accounts. Similarly, the provider of theintegrated account may have an agreement with a provider of an insurancepolicy to associate the insurance policy with integrated investment andinsurance accounts. In some embodiments, though, the provider of theintegrated account may provide and administrate both the investmentvehicles and the insurance policies which may be integrated intointegrated investment and insurance accounts.

Turning now to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of anexemplary system 200 for providing insurance using integrated investmentand insurance accounts (e.g., an “integrated account system”). Thesystem 200 may execute at least a portion of the method 100, in anembodiment. In an embodiment, the system 200 may execute at least aportion of a method for providing insurance using integrated investmentand insurance accounts other than the method 100.

The system 200 may include a computing device 202 which may be, forexample, a computer, a server, a plurality of networked computingdevices having a logical appearance of a single computing device, aplurality of cloud computing devices, etc. Accordingly, for ease ofdiscussion only and not for limitation purposes, the computing device202 is referred to herein using the singular tense, although in someembodiments the computing device 202 may include more than one physicalcomputing device.

The computing device 202 may include a program memory 208, a processor210 (may be called a controller, a microcontroller, or amicroprocessor), a random-access memory (RAM) 212, and an input/output(I/O) circuit 215, all of which may be interconnected via anaddress/data bus 218. The program memory 208 may comprise one or moretangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage media or devices, andmay be configured to store computer-readable instructions 220 that, whenexecuted by the processor 210, cause the computing device 202 to provideintegrated investment and insurance accounts. As such, the computingdevice 202 is particularly configured to provide integrated investmentand insurance accounts at least due to the inclusion of the instructions220 stored on the memory 208. In an embodiment, the instructions 220,when executed, may cause the computing device 202 to implement at leasta portion the method 100 of providing an integrated investment andinsurance account. For ease of discussion, the instructions 220 arereferred to herein as the “integrated account provider 220.”

The computing device 202 may be configured or adapted to access one ormore data storage devices 222. For example, the integrated accountprovider 220 may be executable by the processor 210 to access the one ormore data storage devices 222. Additionally or alternatively, anotherset of computer-executable instructions 225 may be executable by theprocessor 210 to access the one or more data storage devices 222. Assuch, the processor 210 may be in communicative connection with the oneor more data storage devices 222.

The one or more data storage devices 222 may comprise, for example, oneor more memory devices, a data bank, cloud data storage, or one or moreother suitable data storage devices. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 2, the computing device 202 is shown as being configured to accessthe one or more data storage devices 222 via a network interface 228that is coupled to a link 230 in communicative connection with the oneor more data storage devices 222. The link 230 in FIG. 2 is depicted asa link to one or more private or public networks 232 (e.g., the one ormore data storage devices 222 are remotely located from the computingdevice 202), although this is not required. The link 230 may include awired link and/or a wireless link, or may utilize any suitablecommunications technology.

In an embodiment (not shown), at least one of the one or more datastorage devices 222 is included in the computing device 202, and theprocessor 210 of the computing device 202 (or the instructions 220, 225being executed by the processor 210) accesses the one or more datastorage devices 222 via a link comprising a read or write command,function, primitive, application programming interface, plug-in,operation, or instruction, or similar.

The one or more data storage devices 222 may include one physicaldevice, or the one or more data storage devices 222 may include morethan one physical device. The one or more data storage devices 222,though, may logically appear as a single data storage deviceirrespective of the number of physical devices included therein.Accordingly, for ease of discussion only and not for limitationpurposes, the data storage device 222 is referred to herein using thesingular tense.

The data storage device 222 may be configured or adapted to store datarelated to the integrated account system 200. In an embodiment, the datastorage device 222 includes a database or other suitable data storageformat 233 that includes one or more entries 235 a-235 n. Each entry 235may correspond to a particular integrated account. For example, theentry 235 a corresponds to the account owner 240, which may be a personthat is indicated by a value stored in the field 240.

Additionally or alternatively, each account entry 235 may include one ormore indicators 242 configured or adapted to store respective values ofone or more parameters corresponding to the investment vehicle portionof the integrated account 235, e.g., one or more parameterscorresponding to the one or more investment vehicles included in orassociated with the investment vehicle portion of the integrated account235. For example, the one or more indicators 242 may include a fieldstoring a value indicative of a current value of total assets undermanagement of the account 235. Additionally or alternatively, when theintegrated account 235 includes multiple investment vehicles, the one ormore indicators 242 may include multiple fields, each of which stores arespective value indicative of a respective current value of AUM of eachinvestment vehicle included in the integrated account 235. In somecases, the one or more indicators 242 may include one or more fieldsstoring values indicative of how and how often operating expenses are tobe assessed against the one or more investment vehicles included in theinvestment vehicle portion of the integrated account 235. For example, adifferent field may respectively indicate a respective operating expenseprotocol for a respective investment vehicle included in or associatedwith the integrated account 235. In some configurations, the one or moreindicators 242 may indicate amounts of operating expenses that have beenassessed and collected for the various investment vehicles. Further, incases in which the provider of the integrated account does not provideor administrate a particular investment vehicle, the one or moreindicators 242 may indicate the provider of the particular investmentvehicle.

Additionally or alternatively, each entry 235 may include one or moreindicators 245 whose values are indicative of various parameters of theinsurance policy portion of the integrated account. For example, thefield 245 may store a value indicative of how a payout or benefit of theinsurance policy portion of the integrated account is to be determinedat the time of payout. Other fields which may be included in the one ormore insurance policy portion indicators 245 may include, for example,an indication of a type of insurance, and/or an amount and periodicityof an assessed premium of the insurance policy. If multiple insurancepolicies are included in the integrated account 235, respectiveindicators 245 for each insurance policy may be provided in the accountentry 235. Further, in cases in which the provider of the integratedaccount does not provide or administrate a particular insurance policy,the one or more indicators 242 may indicate the provider of theparticular insurance policy.

In an embodiment, the data storage device 222 may store other datarelated to providing integrated investment and insurance accounts. Forexample, the data storage device 222 may store one or more sets ofintegration rules, one or more sets of data to be procured and saved fortax or other governmental reasons, security and access permissions,contact and other information corresponding to the account owners,and/or other data corresponding to providing integrated investment andinsurance accounts.

With further regard to FIG. 2, in an embodiment, the integrated accountprovider 220 may be configured or adapted to change or update theentries 235 and the values of the fields 240-245 included therein toreflect the current status of the integrated accounts. Generally, theintegrated account provider 220 may administrate the entries 235 and thecontents of the entries 235 to support providing integrated investmentand insurance accounts. For example, the integrated account provider 220may create a new entry 235 n corresponding to a new integrated accountfor the same or for a different account owner, or the integrated accountprovider 220 may delete an entry 235 b.

The integrated account provider 220 may update a value of the field 242storing the investment vehicle portion information when a current stateor status of the investment vehicle portion changes. In an embodiment,the integrated account provider 220 may change or update the entries 235(or at least some portions of their contents and fields 242, 245) basedon one or more explicit or implicit indications (e.g., triggers)received by the computing device 202. For example, the integratedaccount provider 220 may receive an explicit indication or a triggerindicating that a value of a particular investment vehicle has increasedor decreased, and/or an explicit indication or trigger indicating thatan operating expense has been assessed for a particular investmentvehicle. Some explicit triggers may be received via a user interface250A. For example, a trigger received via the user interface 250A mayindicate that funds currently allocated under one particular investmentvehicle are to be transferred into another investment vehicle. The userinterface 250 may be integral to the computing device 202 (e.g., theuser interface 250A), and/or the user interface may not be integral withthe computing device 202 (e.g., the user interface 250B). For example,the user interface 250 may be a remote user interface 250B at a remotecomputing device, such as a web page or a client application.

In an embodiment, the integrated account provider 220 may receive anexplicit indication or a trigger to change to one or more of the entries235 via a link 230 that is communicatively connected to anothercomputing device or system 255, 258. In an embodiment, the computingdevice 202 may receive a trigger, signal or message via the link 230(and, optionally, via one or more private or public networks 232) from acomputing device or system 255 at which insurance policy information ismaintained and/or administrated. For example, the computing system 255may store additional data or information corresponding to the insurancepolicy, such as policy terms, records of premium payments, personalinformation of the policyholder, status of underwriting, etc. In anembodiment, when insurance policy information is added, deleted, changedor updated at the computing system 255, the computing system 255 maycorrespondingly inform the integrated account provider 220 via the link230.

In an embodiment, the computing device 202 may receive a trigger ormessage via the link 230 (and, optionally, via one or more private orpublic networks 232) from a computing device or system 258 at whichinvestment vehicle information is maintained and/or administrated. Forexample, the computing system 258 may store additional data orinformation corresponding to the investment account such as accountterms, records of accumulated interest, gains, distributions, or othertransactions, personal information of the account owner, etc. In anembodiment, when investment account information is added, deleted,changed or updated at the computing system 258, the computing system 258may correspondingly inform the integrated account provider 220 via thelink 230.

In FIG. 2, although the computing device 202 is shown as being incommunicative connection with a single computing system 255corresponding to insurance policies, the computing device 202 may be incommunicative connection to any number of computing systems 255 (e.g.,zero, two, three, or more computing devices) corresponding to any numberor types of insurance policies. For example, the computing device 202may be in communicative connection with a first computing systemcorresponding to life insurance policies, and with a second systemcorresponding to disability insurance policies, and with yet a thirdsystem corresponding to long-term care insurance policies. In anembodiment, the computing device 202 may be included in (e.g., integralwith) a computing system 255 corresponding to insurance policies.

Further, although in FIG. 2 the computing device 202 is shown as beingin communicative connection with a single computing system 258corresponding to investment accounts, the computing device 202 may be incommunicative connection to any number of computing systems 258 (e.g.,zero, two, three, or more computing devices) corresponding to any numberor types of investment accounts. For example, the computing device 202may be in communicative connection with a computing system correspondingto mutual fund accounts, and with another system corresponding tochecking and savings accounts, and with yet another system correspondingto EFT accounts. In an embodiment, the computing device 202 may beincluded in (e.g., integral with) a computing system 258 correspondingto investment accounts.

Further, in some embodiments, the computing system 255 may be combinedwith the computing device 202 into an integral computing system, and/orthe computing system 258 may be combined with the computing device 202into an integral computing system. Indeed, in some embodiments, thecomputing systems 202, 255 and 258 may be provided by a single providerthat provides both investment vehicles and insurance policies, andaccordingly the computing systems 202, 255, 258 may be combined into anintegral system.

Turning again to the computing device 202, while the integrated accountprovider 220 is shown as a single block in FIG. 2, it will beappreciated that the integrated account provider 220 may include anumber of different programs, modules, routines, and sub-routines thatmay collectively cause the computing device 202 to implement theintegrated account provider 220. It should be appreciated that althoughonly one processor 210 is shown, the computing device 202 may includemultiple processors 210. Additionally, although the I/O circuit 215 isshown as a single block, it should be appreciated that the I/O circuit215 may include a number of different types of I/O circuits. Similarly,the memory of the computing device 202 may include multiple RAMs 212 andmultiple program memories 208. Further, while the instructions for theintegrated account provider 220 and the other instructions 222 are shownbeing stored in the program memory 208, the instructions mayadditionally or alternatively be stored in the RAM 212 or other localmemory (not shown).

The RAM(s) 212 and program memories 208 may be implemented assemiconductor memories, magnetically readable memories, chemically orbiologically readable memories, and/or optically readable memories, ormay utilize any suitable memory technology. The computing device 202 mayalso be operatively connected to the network 232 via the link 230 andthe I/O circuit 215. The network 232 may be a proprietary network, asecure public internet, a virtual private network or some other type ofnetwork, such as dedicated access lines, plain ordinary telephone lines,satellite links, combinations of these, etc. Where the network 232comprises the Internet, data communications may take place over thenetwork 232 via an Internet communication protocol, for example.

Although the foregoing text sets forth a detailed description ofnumerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the scopeof the patent is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the endof this patent. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplaryonly and does not describe every possible embodiment because describingevery possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible.Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using eithercurrent technology or technology developed after the filing date of thispatent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.

Thus, many modifications and variations may be made in the techniquesand structures described and illustrated herein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present claims. Accordingly, it should beunderstood that the methods and systems described herein areillustrative only and are not limiting upon the scope of the claims.

1. An integrated account provider system, the system comprising: acommunication interface configured to communicatively couple the systemto a communications network; a processor; and a non-transitorycomputer-readable memory storing computer-executable instructions that,when executed by the processor, cause the system to: establish aninvestment vehicle portion in an integrated account on a data storagedevice via a first link to the communications network, the investmentvehicle portion including an indication of an amount of funds investedby an owner of the integrated account in one or more investmentvehicles, an indication of an operating expense assessed on at least apart of the amount of funds, and an indication of a premium of aninsurance policy portion, the one or more investment vehicles having oneor more beneficiaries who are designated to receive total assets undermanagement (AUM) of the one or more investment vehicles at a time ofdeath of the owner, wherein a value of the total AUM of the one or moreinvestment vehicles is based in part upon market values of the one ormore investment vehicles, establish the insurance policy portion of theintegrated account, the insurance policy portion including an indicationthat an amount of the payout of the at least one of one or moreinsurance policies is based on a value of the total AUM of the one ormore investment vehicles at a time of the payout, the insurance policyportion corresponding to one or more insurance policies each having theowner of the integrated account designated as an insured party, andfunds for a payout of at least one of the one or more insurance policiesbeing provided from funds other than the total AUM of the one or moreinvestment vehicles, cause at least a portion of the operating expenseassessed on the at least the part of the amount of funds to be paidtowards a premium of the at least one of the one or more insurancepolicies, thereby providing insurance for the owner, receive, at a userinterface of the system via a second link to the communications network,one or more indications of at least one of a change to the one or moreinsurance policies from an insurance policy computing system, or receivevia a third link to the communications network one or more indicationsof a change to the one or more investment vehicles from an investmentvehicle computing system, and trigger, in response to the one or moreindications, one or more changes of the plurality of the entries storedin the data storage device via an application programming interface, theone or more of the plurality of entries updated based on the receivedone or more indications.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one ormore investment vehicles include at least one of a mutual fund, acertificate of deposit, a savings account, a checking account, anexchange-traded fund, a brokerage account, an investment managementaccount, or an interest bearing vehicle, and wherein the at least one ofthe one or more insurance policies further include another type ofinsurance policy having the account owner designated as the insuredparty.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the operating expense is atleast one of (i) a fixed monetary amount, or (ii) a percentage of thetotal AUM at least one investment vehicle included in the one or moreinvestment vehicles.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein at least aportion of the operating expense is assessed periodically.
 5. The systemof claim 1, wherein the one or more investment vehicles exclude at leastone of a tax-deferred investment vehicle or an annuity.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one of the one or more insurance policiescorresponding to the integrated account and designating the accountowner as the insured party has been approved by an underwriting processthat is a subset of an underwriting process for a stand-alone insurancepolicy that designates the account owner as the insured party and thatprovides a same type of insurance as provided by the at least one of theone or more insurance policies.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein theamount of the payout of the at least one of the one or more insurancepolicies at the time of the payout comprises at least one of an entiretyof the value of the total AUM of the one or more investment vehicles atthe time of the payout, a predetermined percentage of the value of thetotal AUM of the one or more investment vehicles at the time of thepayout, a fixed, predetermined amount, an amount within a range of apredetermined minimum amount and a predetermined maximum amount, or avalue of total AUM of a particular investment vehicle included in theone or more investment vehicles at the time of the payout.
 8. The systemof claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more investment vehiclescomprise multiple investment vehicles, or the at least one of the one ormore insurance policies comprises multiple insurance policies.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising accessing on the data storagedevice at least one of: an indication of a total current balance of theone or more investment vehicles; an indication of a current balance ofat least one of the one or more investment vehicles; an indication ofanother parameter of the one or more investment vehicles; an indicationof a type of insurance provided by the insurance policy; an indicationof an amount of the premium of the insurance policy; or an indication ofanother parameter of the insurance policy.
 10. A method to provideintegrated insurance and investment accounts, the method comprising:establishing an investment vehicle portion in an integrated account on adata storage device via a first link to the communications network, theinvestment vehicle portion including an indication of an amount of fundsinvested by an owner of the integrated account in one or more investmentvehicles, an indication of an operating expense assessed on at least apart of the amount of funds, and an indication of a premium of aninsurance policy portion, the one or more investment vehicles having oneor more beneficiaries who are designated to receive total assets undermanagement (AUM) of the one or more investment vehicles at a time ofdeath of the owner, wherein a value of the total AUM of the one or moreinvestment vehicles is based in part upon market values of the one ormore investment vehicles, establishing the insurance policy portion ofthe integrated account, the insurance policy portion including anindication that an amount of the payout of the at least one of one ormore insurance policies is to be determined based on a value of thetotal AUM of the one or more investment vehicles at a time of thepayout, the insurance policy portion corresponding to one or moreinsurance policies each having the owner of the integrated accountdesignated as an insured party, and funds for a payout of at least oneof the one or more insurance policies being provided from funds otherthan the total AUM of the one or more investment vehicles, causing atleast a portion of the operating expense assessed on the at least thepart of the amount of funds to be paid towards a premium of the at leastone of the one or more insurance policies, thereby providing insurancefor the owner, receiving, at a user interface of the system via a secondlink to the communications network, one or more indications of at leastone of a change to the one or more insurance policies from an insurancepolicy computing system, or receive via a third link to thecommunications network one or more indications of a change to the one ormore investment vehicles from an investment vehicle computing system,and triggering, in response to the one or more indications, one or morechanges of the plurality of the entries stored in the data storagedevice via an application programming interface, the one or more of theplurality of entries updated based on the received one or moreindications
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or moreinvestment vehicles include at least one of a mutual fund, a certificateof deposit, a savings account, a checking account, an exchange-tradedfund, a brokerage account, an investment management account, or aninterest bearing vehicle, and wherein the at least one of the one ormore insurance policies further include another type of insurance policyhaving the account owner designated as the insured party.
 12. The methodof claim 10, wherein the operating expense is at least one of a fixedmonetary amount, or a percentage of the total AUM at least oneinvestment vehicle included in the one or more investment vehicles. 13.The method of claim 10, wherein at least a portion of the operatingexpense is assessed periodically.
 14. The method of claim 10, whereinthe at least one of the one or more insurance policies corresponding tothe integrated account and designating the account owner as the insuredparty has been approved by an underwriting process that is a subset ofan underwriting process for a stand-alone insurance policy thatdesignates the account owner as the insured party and that provides asame type of insurance as provided by the at least one of the one ormore insurance policies.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein the amountof the payout of the at least one of the one or more insurance policiesat the time of the payout comprises at least one of an entirety of thevalue of the total AUM of the one or more investment vehicles at thetime of the payout, a predetermined percentage of the value of the totalAUM of the one or more investment vehicles at the time of the payout, afixed, predetermined amount, an amount within a range of a predeterminedminimum amount and a predetermined maximum amount, or a value of totalAUM of a particular investment vehicle included in the one or moreinvestment vehicles at the time of the payout.
 16. The method of claim10, wherein at least one of the one or more investment vehicles comprisemultiple investment vehicles, or the at least one of the one or moreinsurance policies comprises multiple insurance policies.
 17. A methodfor providing insurance via an integrated investment and insuranceaccount, the method comprising: augmenting an established investmentaccount with an application for an insurance policy to generate anintegrated investment and insurance account, wherein the establishedinvestment account is opened by an account owner and has an operatingexpense, wherein the account owner is designated as an insured party ofthe insurance policy, and wherein an amount of a payout of the insurancepolicy is to be based on a value of total assets under management (AUM)of the established investment account at a time of the payout, whereinthe value of the total AUM of the established investment account isbased in part upon market values of one or more underlying investmentvehicles; causing an underwriting process to be performed on theapplication for the insurance policy, the underwriting process being asubset of an underwriting process designated to be performed for anapplication for a stand-alone insurance policy that does not augment anyinvestment account of the account owner; receiving an approval from theunderwriting process performed on the application of the insurancepolicy; based on the approval, including the approved insurance policyin the integrated investment and insurance account; and causing at leasta portion of monies received in response to an assessment of theoperating expense on the established investment account to be paidtowards a premium of the insurance policy, thereby providing insuranceto the account owner.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the one ormore investment vehicles include at least one of a mutual fund, acertificate of deposit, a savings account, a checking account, anexchange-traded fund, a brokerage account, an investment managementaccount, or an interest bearing vehicle, and the insurance policy is atleast one of a life insurance policy, a disability insurance policy, along-term care insurance policy, a personal liability insurance policy,a personal umbrella insurance policy, or another type of insurancepolicy for which the owner of the established investment account isdesignated as the insured party.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein theoperating expense of the one or more investment vehicles includes atleast one of a fixed monetary amount or a percentage of the total AUM ofat least one of the one or more investment vehicles.
 20. The method ofclaim 17, wherein the payout of the insurance policy comprises at leastone of: a predetermined percentage of the value of the AUM of theestablished investment account at the time of the payout; apredetermined monetary amount; an amount within a range of apredetermined minimum monetary amount and a predetermined maximummonetary amount; or a value of the total AUM of a particular investmentvehicle included in one or more investment vehicles associated with theestablished investment account at the time of the payout.